Larkspur commission delays decision on office park renovation

A modest office park renovation plan in Larkspur has sparked a debate over public use of private property.

The Larkspur Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to delay its decision on the proposal after receiving more than 20 written comments and hearing from several speakers asking it to deny the project at 300 Drakes Landing.

At the core of the issue is the proposed relocation of a community room to a smaller space within a vacant restaurant, previously Jason’s Restaurant. The 2,400-square-foot community room was a condition of approval of the Drake’s Landing Office Park project precise development plan approved in the 1980s as a concession for the loss of a bowling alley at the site.

The commissioners were tasked Tuesday with recommending approval of an amendment to that precise plan — allowing the project to happen — to the City Council.

“This community room was an amenity that was negotiated and I don’t think we should be giving it up,” said Carol Possin, who lives near the site.

The property owners say the publicly available space is underused and the move will make way for more office tenants and more revenue.

The proposal would shrink the community room from the 480-person standing-room capacity to 80. The space would have a designated community room, a break room with a refrigerator and sink, a telephone room and a meeting room, each divided by floor-to-ceiling walls within 1,187 square feet.

Heidi Hirvonen, vice president of Tecta Associates, the architecture firm working on the project, said the overhaul will also provide technology for digital presentations and meetings in the rooms.

“We did feel that what was being designed would better suit not just the complex but the community itself,” Hirvonen said.

Michael Hamilton, who works for New York Life, the investment manager for the fund that owns the property, said that since Jason’s Restaurant closed, the management has struggled to find a restaurateur interested in opening a business in the 3,277-square-foot space.

The smaller restaurant footprint would make it easier to attract a new food operator for that space, Hamilton said.

Residents, however, said the community space is scarcely used because the owners don’t advertise how to rent it, and argued the room should remain where it is with better marketing.

“I tried to Google it and could find nothing about this community room,” Possin said. “I think we need to have this advertised on the town’s website and we also need to have the policies available online.”

The commission agreed, expressing interest in adding a condition of approval requiring the property owner to market the public space for rent online with policies, conditions and prices clearly advertised.

“I think the space is underutilized basically because people don’t know about it,” said Brock Wagstaff, a commissioner. “It would be interesting to see if you did advertise if it filled up if people started using it. Obviously, the community in hearing about it, has responded in wanting to keep it.”

Planning commissioner Jeffrey Swisher said he’s lived in the city for 30 years and it was the first time he heard of the community room.

“That’s the most important thing that it needs to be marketed better as a community space — I’d say aggressively,” Swisher said.

Commissioners also want more statistics on how often the space was rented, and how that compares to other community spaces in the city.

Some letter writers were concerned that the proposed precise plan amendment was written in a way that would allow the property owners the flexibility to get rid of the community room altogether in the future.

While some commissioners were concerned about reducing the size of the community space, Swisher said, “I don’t have problems with reducing it, but I definitely would have problems with eliminating it, and I think that’s what we need to focus on, making sure that’s a condition of approval.”

The applicant agreed to work with the city staff to return with more information. A new hearing date has not been scheduled.

Project information is at bit.ly/417k3QG.